TOEIC GrammarTOEIC Grammar - mzientek.v.prz.edu.pl

[Pages:45]TOEIC Grammar

Grammaire con?ue par le Groupe ESC Chamb?ry / La Cit? des Langues

15/09/2006 v 1.00

1

Nouns

Tip

Check whether the noun is countable or uncountable!

Countable or uncountable nouns: definitions

Countable nouns (people, animals, objects, plants, units of measurement) can be counted, used with the indefinite article and be plural. ? two men; a dog; cars Uncountable nouns (substances, materials, abstract ideas, languages) cannot be counted, used with the indefinite article and are singular. ? water; money

Uncountable nouns

The following nouns are always uncountable :

advice baggage, luggage

damage equipment

fun furniture information knowledge

? The information you gave me is incomplete. ? She is making good progress with her German.

leisure money news progress traffic weather work

A piece of

Uncountable nouns can be made countable by combining them with: ? expressions like a piece of ..., a can of ..., a slice of...

a piece of information, a can of soda, a slice of bread ? other nouns

leisure activities, homework assignments

Both countable and uncountable

Many nouns can be used as countable and uncountable nouns, usually with a difference in meaning :

Uncountable paper (material) business (all business transactions) space (the universe) work (employment) time (hours, days...)

Countable a (news)paper a business (a company) a space (a blank) a work (of art) a time (an occasion)

? They have some work to do on the acoustics. ? If the global economy continues to flourish, people will continue buying

works of art.

Ce sujet continue page suivante

15/09/2006 v 1.00

2

Nouns, Suite

Tip

Check whether it is the right plural!

Singular and plural

Note the singular and plural forms of the following nouns.

Singular

Plural

irregular

-f(e) : half, life, self...

-ves : halves, lives, selves...

child

children

foot, tooth

feet, teeth

mouse

mice

alumnus, syllabus ...

alumni, syllabi ...

analysis, crisis ...

analyses, crises ...

criterion, phenomenon

criteria, phenomena

man, woman

men, women

always singular

always plural

news

belongings, clothes, contents,

the United States of America,

earnings, goods, people, customs,

nouns in -ics : athletics,

media

mathematics, economics...

one thing, two parts : pants, shorts,

jeans, glasses, binoculars, scissors...

same as singular

means, series, species, crossroads, headquarters, fish, sheep, data, aircraft

Example : ? The news is disturbing. ? Tracking bank transactions as a means of pursuing potential terrorists has

been central to US intelligence.

Hundred, thousand...

When dozen, hundred, thousand, million, billion are used to convey the idea of:

? a definite number, the pattern is: number/several + hundred, thousand, million...+ plural noun twenty thousand dollars Economists were alarmed by the deficit, which was several billion worse than they had expected.

? an indefinite number, the pattern is : + hundreds, thousands, millions...+ of + plural noun I've told you hundreds of times.

Ce sujet continue page suivante

15/09/2006 v 1.00

3

Nouns, Suite

Forms of address

Mr Smith

a man

Mrs Smith

a married woman

Miss Smith

an unmarried woman

Ms Smith

a married or unmarried woman

These forms of address have to be followed by a family name.

Abbreviations

Abbreviation Expression/word in full

ASAP

as soon as possible

RSVP

R?pondez SVP

attn

to the attention of

p.p.

per proxy; per pro.(on behalf of)

i.e.

id est (that is)

p.a.

per annum

e.g.

exempli gratia (for example)

PTO

Please Turn Over

AM

ante meridiem

PM

post meridiem

# or No

number

POB

post office box

@

at

misc

miscellaneous

lb or lbs

pound(s)

oz

ounce(s)

GMT

Greenwich Mean Time

id

the same

mph

miles per hour

NB

nota bene (take note)

Abbreviation VAT Bros Co Corp Inc Ltd PLC ATM CEO IT MBA R&D PR HR PC

Expression/word in full Value Added Tax Brothers /s/ Company Corporation Incorporated Limited

Public Limited Company Automatic Teller Machine

Chief Executive Officer Information Technology Master of Business Administration Research and Development

Public Relations Human Resources Personal Computer

15/09/2006 v 1.00

4

Determiners

Definition

A determiner is a word that is normally used at the beginning of a nounphrase. Determiners include : ? articles. There are two types of articles:

- the definite article: the - the indefinite article: a/an ? possessive adjectives ? demonstrative adjectives

Tip

Never leave a singular countable noun standing alone. You must use a

determiner.

Articles + nouns

The rules for the use of articles with countable and uncountable nouns are the following :

Nouns singular countable plural countable uncountable

a / an a car

the the car the cars the money

no article

cars money

? When we want to talk about things in general we usually use a plural or uncountable noun with no article. It has the same meaning as all. Jobs are scarce. (All jobs are scarce) Our everyday life has changed thanks to technical progress. (thanks to all technical progress)

? The can be used before an uncountable noun when the latter is used with a qualifying phrase or has been qualified previously. The music you can hear is country music I asked to see the manager.

The + placenames

The definite article is used with place-names as follows:

The

?

? seas, oceans, rivers:

? singular countries, states:

The Mediterranean, The Atlantic, France, Texas

The Rhine

? continents: Asia

? plural countries: The Netherlands ? lakes: Lake Geneva

? countries with common nouns:

? islands: Greenland

The United Kingdom

? towns: Sidney

? mountain chains, island groups:

The Rockies, The West Indies

? areas: The Far East

Ce sujet continue page suivante

15/09/2006 v 1.00

5

Determiners, Suite

Idiomatic uses of articles

Some nouns can be used either with an definite article or not as follows:

go to prison/jail; be in prison/jail go to school; be in/at school go to/be in class go to, be in/at college on campus, off campus be at/go to university be in/go to hospital (GB) go to/be at church be in bed, go to bed, stay in bed be/stay (at) home, go home, come/get/arrive home, leave home at sea, go to sea in town, to go into town, to leave town be at work, go to work, start/finish/leave work eat breakfast/have lunch/after dinner

article

be in/go to the hospital (US) make the bed in the home on the sea, by the sea

eat a big breakfast/have a quick lunch/after a delicious dinner

The indefinite article: pronunciation

The indefinite article is

? a + words beginning with a consonant sound

? an + words beginning with a vowel sound

but:

a unanimous decision

a European country

a uniform

a UFO is an Unidentified Flying Object

half an hour

an honest man

An MBA is a Master in Business Administration.

The indefinite article: some uses

The indefinite article a/an is used ? before the names of professions:

Mr Bates is a lawyer. Ms Atkinson, a renowned novelist, will attend the presentation. ? in expressions of measurement / price / speed / ratio ( = per in writing): How much is it a kilo? The rent is $500 per week. Four times a day. 60 miles an hour.

This, that...

... are used as follows:

Number Near (in time or space): here

singular

This man

plural

These men

Further away (in time or space): there That day Those days

Ce sujet continue page suivante

15/09/2006 v 1.00

6

Determiners, Suite

Some, any

Some and any are followed by plural countable nouns and uncountable

nouns and are used as follows:

some cars

any cars

some money

any money

Some

Some is used: ? in affirmative sentences: He's got some books from the library. ? in offers and requests: Could I have some books, please? Why don't you

take some books home with you? ? in questions where the answer yes is expected : Did he give you some tea?

(= I'm sure he did.)

Any

Any:

? in negatives (not any = no; hardly any; never any): There isn't any reason to

complain.

? in questions: Have they got any children?

? in if-sentences: If there are any problems with his work, tell me.

? in affirmative sentences where any = 'no matter which', 'no matter who',

'no matter what': You can borrow any of my books.

Some, any: their compounds

Their compounds, which are always singular, are: ? someone/somebody, something, somewhere. I have something to say. ? anyone/anybody, anything, anywhere. Does anybody have the time?

You may invite anybody to dinner, I don't mind. ? no one/nobody, nothing, nowhere. Homeless people have nowhere to go

at night. ? (everyone/everybody, everything, everywhere). They can be followed by else. There's nothing else to do.

Expressions of quantity

The chart below shows which expressions of quantity are used with:

Uncountable nouns (singular) much

an amount of little a little less

? How much money do you have? ? Both students have passed their exams.

Plural countable nouns many

a number of few a few fewer

several both

a couple of

Ce sujet continue page suivante

15/09/2006 v 1.00

7

Determiners, Suite

Little/ a little

Little/few : - mean "not a lot, hardly any": Few tourists visited the area because of the oil spill. - have a negative meaning: The project failed because too little money was spent on it.

A little/a few - mean "some": I need only a little help to finish this work. - are more positive: For a few dollars more, you can walk up to the top. - can be used with only: Only a little progress has been made.

Most

Most can be followed by: ? a noun : Most trainees haven't done much work. ? of + determiner + noun : Most of my friends will come to the party.

+ object pronoun : Most of them have work to do.

Each/every

Each and every are similar in meaning and are both followed by a singular noun.

Each ? separates (one by one)

Each child received a present. ? is used for a small number (two or more) ? can be a pronoun

Each of the children received a present.

Every ? generalizes (all)

Every child in the world deserves affection. ? is used for a large number (three or more) ? also means how often something happens

and is therefore followed by a plural noun He had a break every two hours.

All/whole

All and whole are similar in meaning:

All

Whole

? + uncountable noun means complete, ? comes after determiner + singular countable

entire

noun and means complete, entire

all my life, all the money, all cheese

my whole life

? + plural countable noun generalises ? + plural countable noun = complete, entire

All families suffered during the war. Whole families were deported.

All day/evening... = the whole day/evening... = the complete day/evening... from beginning to end Every day/evening/three weeks... says how often something happens All the time = always Every time = each time, on every occasion The whole time = from beginning to end

15/09/2006 v 1.00

8

 ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download